Central Student Association

The Central Student Association (also known as the CSA) is the student union for all undergraduate students at the University of Guelph. The CSA is also member local 54 of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), Canada's largest union of students.

History

The current CSA is the fifth or sixth iteration of a central student union on the Guelph campus, having been founded in 1979 shortly after the previous union was bankrupted by the University when the University Centre was "appropriated" by the UG in the 1970s. The CSA worked to regain student control of the UC from the University in the 1980s.

About

The CSA is a democratically organized, dues paying student union representing over 16,000 full and part-time undergrad students at the University of Guelph.

The purpose of the CSA is to bring together the elected representatives of all the college governments on campus. The CSA also has appointed members of campus organizations into a single body. The CSA provides services such as a health plan, the universal bus pass, and the Human Rights Office. The CSA also owns and operates the Bullring campus pub, and also has a controlling stake on the Board of Directors for the University Centre. All Campus Organizations and Clubs are recognized under the CSA, and together with the different club offices, occupy over half of the second floor of the University Centre.

Administration

The student government is administered by five full-time undergraduate executives, along with five full time staff members. The part-time staff are mostly made up of undergrad students.

On multiple levels, the CSA is controlled by student volunteers and paid employees. The day-to-day operations are overseen by the elected Executive, who also run the various campaigns and provide advocacy for all undergrads and are assisted by the full-time long-term staff.

The elected and appointed Board of Directors holds open meetings each school year every two weeks. Twice a year, the general membership meets to review the auditor's report, ratify changes made to the CSA's by-laws by the Board of Directors, and provide ground level participation to the operation of the CSA. [http://www.csaonline.ca/about About the CSA] ]

For a list of employees, check the [http://www.csaonline.ca/staff Staff Listing Page] .

Elections

Elections are held every March to select the next years Executive and Board. Along with this, all the part-time positions are re-staffed. Volunteers also assist the CSA with campaigns and referendums on issues like the rising cost of tuition, the environment and globalization.

Board of Directors

CSA Board of Directors meet six times per semester. Board meetings are scheduled in advance, and are usually held every other Wednesday. In the summer months, the board meetings are held in the CSA Boardroom, and in the Fall and Winter semesters, they usually meet in a larger room in the University Centre. All the Board meetings are open to the public, and are traditionally begun with a motion to extend speaking rights to all present, so that visitors may contribute to the process. Only members of the Board of Directors hold voting rights. [http://www.csaonline.ca/board Information and Members of the Board of Directors] ]

The voting members of the CSA Board of Directors are as follows: the 5 members of the Executive Committee, 21 College Representatives (3 from each of the university's 7 colleges), and 10 appointed representatives from different stakeholder groups.

See also

*Interhall Council
*List of Ontario students' associations

External links

* [http://www.csaonline.ca Official website]

References